Tuesday, 17 May 2016

Embattled prosecutor-general Johannes Tomana faces suspension after the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) yesterday resolved to recommend to President Robert Mugabe that he be dismissed from work.

Tomana is facing criminal charges at the magistrates’ court after being accused of illegally releasing suspects accused of plotting to bomb Gushungo Dairies, a multi-million dollar business owned by the First Family.

Highly-placed sources told the Daily News yesterday that the JCS sat in Harare yesterday and resolved that Tomana was no longer suitable for the prosecutor-general’s position.

“Yes, the JCS sat today and resolved to make a recommendation to ... Mugabe that in terms of Section 187 (3) of the Constitution, he must be fired from his job as he has brought disrepute to the judiciary. And unfortunately for Tomana, the president has no option except to constitute a tribunal and that automatically means that he will be suspended until his case is finalised,” said the source.

Section 187 (3) reads: “If the Judicial Service Commission advises the president that the question of removing any judge, including the Chief Justice, from office ought to be investigated, the president must appoint a tribunal to inquire into the matter.”

According to the law, Tomana is at the same level as Supreme Court judges. According to Section 187 (10), once the case is referred to a tribunal, it becomes an automatic suspension for the accused.

It reads: “If the question of removing a judge from office has been referred to a tribunal under this section, the judge is suspended from office until the president, on the recommendations of the tribunal, revokes the suspension or removes the judge from office.” daily news